Three Years of Morning Watch

Three years ago, at 5:30 a.m., I did my first Morning Watch.  It was in the early days of the pandemic and its lockdown.  My church had already been doing some live-streaming of Sunday worship service, so making that pivot to broadcasting worship wasn't hard for us.  My pastor added some evening Compline services to the mix.  Those of us who are early risers wanted something on the other side of the day, and I volunteered to be the one to do it.

I thought about choosing texts for the day, but then I wondered why I would do that, since we had common lectionaries.  I took the path of least resistance for me, which was using Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours.  I used the Facebook Live feature and used the church's Facebook page, which meant that people could tune in live or they could watch the recording later.

The format remains the same.  I read the readings for the day, and then we have 5-7 minutes for whatever activity centers us.  I almost always sketch.  These days, it's often the only sketching I do in a week, and as always, I'm amazed at how much I can accomplish, even if I only do it a few minutes a day.

When I began, I thought I'd do this for a few weeks.  And now, here we are, three years later.  We're no longer under lockdown orders, but we also are not done with this disease.  But that's not why I'm still doing Morning Watch.

This practice nourishes me.  I would be doing it regardless, and it's really no problem to broadcast.  I'm almost always up and awake before 5:30 a.m.  I almost always have internet access.

Do people tune in?  I know that there are at least three people who tune in regularly and leave comments.  I know that there are plenty of people who see the broadcast and don't leave comments.  I have heard from some people about how much this practice means to them, how it's gotten them through some rough patches.  That alone would keep me doing it.

But it also enriches me.  Doing a broadcast, knowing that some people will tune in at some point, keeps me doing it.   And starting my day this way makes for a better day, a better week, a better month--better years!